The Beach House (2019 film)

The Beach House is a 2019 American horror film written and directed by Jeffrey A. Brown in his directorial debut. It stars Liana Liberato and Noah Le Gros as a college-aged couple who take a vacation to a beach house, where they meet an older couple (Maryann Nagel and Jake Weber) and are threatened by a mysterious infection that spreads across the coast.[1][2]

The Beach House
Promotional release poster
Directed byJeffrey A. Brown
Produced by
Written byJeffrey A. Brown
Starring
Music byRoly Porter
CinematographyOwen Levelle
Edited byAaron Crozier
Production
company
  • Low Spark Films
  • Uncorked Productions
Distributed byShudder
Release date
  • September 14, 2019 (2019-09-14) (SEFFF)
  • July 9, 2020 (2020-07-09) (United States)
Running time
88 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Beach House had its world premiere at the Strasbourg European Fantastic Film Festival in September 2019.[3] The film was made available for streaming on Shudder on July 9, 2020.

Plot

Some time after an underwater event that releases gas, teenage couple Emily and Randall arrive at Randall's parents' beach house at a remote vacation town. Emily notes that the town seems deserted. The couple heads upstairs to have sex, after which Randall proposes to Emily that they stay at the beach house permanently, which would stop Emily from going to university. While washing her hands, Emily notices that the water has a strange texture and discovers a medical cabinet stacked with medication and signs of recent activity in the house, like unwashed dishes. While she explores the house, a woman enters; Emily hides and then goes to tell Randall, saying they have to leave. As they try to sneak out, they are confronted by the woman, who recognises Randall. Apparently she is an old friend of his father, who has given her and her husband Mitch permission to stay at the beach house. Mitch, who has been out shopping for groceries, returns to the house and is introduced to Emily and Randall. Emily suggests that she and Randall should get a hotel, but Mitch invites them to stay as there’s plenty of room. Emily sees a strange slug while smoking outside, and she and Randall get into an argument about him not talking to his father about them staying at the beach house, and about him suddenly leaving her after dropping out of school.

During dinner, everyone except Emily eats oysters that Jane caught earlier. Emily reveals that she is studying organic chemistry and wants to become a scientist. Randall goes on a rant about the college system and issues at large, to which Jane tearfully responds that he should be more thankful. Having run out of wine, Randall suggests they all share some edible marijuana which he brought with him, to which Jane and Mitch agree. While high, Mitch also notices the strange water texture and Emily talks to Jane about the start of existence of life on Earth and wanting to go deep-sea diving. Later they all see glowing microbes that are all over the beach and surrounding area that Emily notes are usually present in water. Jane leaves to see it up close but starts coughing after a while and gets disoriented when a strong fog starts to form around the area. After breathing in the fog, Emily becomes disoriented as well and passes out. She awakens to a sick Jane throwing up and goes to sleep. When she wakes up the next day, she finds a catatonic Jane sitting in the kitchen, covered in skin lesions.

Randall and Emily decide to go to the beach, but notice it is completely empty and that Mitch is nowhere to be found. They lie in the sun, but after a while Randall gets sick to the stomach and rushes back to the house, leaving his phone and keys. After he goes to the bathroom, he sees the water from the sink forming strange patterns. Mitch suddenly turns up and tells Emily that something about the area feels off, and hints at Jane being seriously ill. He goes into the water "for a swim" but instead drowns himself. A panicked Emily goes to the shore and screams out for him, only to step into a washed up jellyfish. It stings her and Emily sees a worm-like creature crawling in an open wound. She manages to crawl up to the house and remove the worm, which seems to be a jellyfish tentacle that has mutated. She gets ready to leave and stumbles upon a sick Randall, who tried to help Jane, but she comes out crawling out of her room with white eyes and a strange fluid coming from her mouth. They manage to lock her inside the house but she breaks the window and follows them.

Not having the keys, the couple walk to the nearest house but find no one there. The fog comes back and another person comes crawling at them. The thick fog covers everything as night breaks and Randall becomes increasingly sick. Emily sees a flashing light and discovers it to be a police car with a radio inside, where she manages to contact someone. The person on the other end asks if "they have been exposed" and tells them to barricade themselves and to not breathe in the fog. They break into the house so Emily can look for the car keys. They find that the water is now a completely different texture. When Emily turns on the TV she finds an Emergency Alert System on every channel and a radio broadcast reveals that the microbes, which were preserved in rock underwater were released by the earth heating up. When Emily suggests they wait until morning, Randall confides that he feels like he is dying and that he is scared. Emily asks him to hold on, but when Emily goes into the basement to follow bloody footprints, Randall fully succumbs to the infection and after puking up more fluid and a strange creature, his eyes turn white.

In the basement, Emily finds oxygen tanks for diving and concludes they can use them to breathe in safe air. Before going upstairs, she witnesses a fully infected person, completely mutated into a strange creature that is feeding on another person. Upstairs, she finds Randall and after he starts to follow her, smashes his head in with the oxygen tank. She finds the keys and drives away with the oxygen tank. With the fog making it impossible for her to see, she crashes into a tree, passing out. When she awakens she finds the oxygen tank stuck in the car and crawls out of it, landing in a puddle. After strange visions, we next see her on the beach during day, almost completely infected and repeatedly telling herself to not be scared. A wave crashes on the shore and her and she disappears into the water.

Cast

Music

The film's score was composed by British electronic musician Roly Porter. Known for his work with the influential dubsteb duo Vex'd and his unique approach to electronic music, Porter was invited onto the production by the filmmakers due to his fascination with space, science fiction and his atmospheric solo albums.[4]

Release

The Beach House had its world premiere at the Strasbourg European Fantastic Film Festival on September 14, 2019.[3] In October 2019, the film was screened at the Sitges Film Festival.[5] That same month, Shudder acquired the distribution rights to the film.[6]

The film was made available for streaming on Shudder in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Ireland on July 9, 2020.[7][8][9]

Reception

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 81% based on 98 reviews, with an average rating of 6.48/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "An intriguing and unsettling debut for writer-director Jeffrey A. Brown, The Beach House offers a delightfully grim getaway for fans of imaginative, ambitious horror."[10] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 64 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[11]

Elisabeth Vincentelli of The New York Times wrote that, "after a dillydallying slow start, Brown ratchets up the tension efficiently, summoning a mix of gross-out body invasion, eco-mutation and large-scale cosmic dread on a small budget."[1] Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com gave the film three out out four stars, writing: "Boasting sweaty, shaky camerawork and a firm grasp on tone, Brown's grisly indie horror flick is yet another piece of work that feels unexpectedly suited to our times."[12] Daniel Kurland of Bloody Disgusting gave the film a mostly positive review, calling it "a powerful, emotional throwback to '50s sci-fi" and "an atmospheric triumph from newcomer director Jeffrey A. Brown. He crafts a slick tale of invasion and destruction that's both intimate and cosmically grand."[2]

Michael Gingold of Rue Morgue wrote that, "With a modest budget and scope, Brown nonetheless elicits a sense of engulfing biological apocalypse".[13] Variety's Dennis Harvey commended the film for its tone and "generally strong performances", calling it "skillful enough to satisfy most viewers, if not quite sufficiently original in concept or striking in execution to leave a lasting imprint."[9] Henry Stewart of Slant Magazine gave the film two out of four stars, criticizing its characterization: "The character drama becomes afterthought as it's superseded by action."[14]

References
  1. Vincentelli, Elisabeth (July 8, 2019). "'The Beach House' Review: No Fun Memories for These Vacationers". The New York Times. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  2. Kurland, Daniel (July 9, 2020). "[Review] 'The Beach House' is a Cosmic, Trippy Triumph That Will Bury You In Its Tide". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  3. "The Beach House". Strasbourg European Fantastic Film Festival. Archived from the original on July 9, 2020. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  4. Reeves, Rachel (July 13, 2020). "[Exclusive Interview] Sun, Sand and Soundscapes: A Chat with The Beach House Composer Roly Porter". Nightmare on Film Street. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  5. "The Beach House". Sitges Film Festival. Archived from the original on July 9, 2020. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  6. Squires, John (October 23, 2019). "[Exclusive] Shudder Acquires Seaside Nightmare 'The Beach House' for 2020 Release". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  7. Mack, Andrew (June 27, 2020). "The Beach House Trailer: Cosmic Eco-Horror Coming to Shudder on July 9th". Screen Anarchy. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  8. Foutch, Haleigh (July 4, 2020). "'The Beach House' Trailer Reveals Shudder's Ooey-Gooey Lovecraftian Nightmare". Collider. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  9. Harvey, Dennis (July 8, 2020). "'The Beach House': Film Review". Variety. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  10. "The Beach House (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  11. "The Beach House Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  12. Tallerico, Brian (July 9, 2020). "The Beach House movie review & film summary (2020)". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  13. Gingold, Michael (July 9, 2020). "Movie Review: An Eerie Visit to "The Beach House"". Rue Morgue. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  14. Stewart, Henry (July 6, 2020). "Review: The Beach House's Moodiness Is Dissipated by Shaky Characterization". Slant Magazine. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
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